22
beat him up || not acceptingMy muse attempts to push off yours.
dick goes down hard. he always does when slade’s involved. most of the time, it involves a grin and a quip, something too low for anyone nearby to hear.
this time, the man pinning him is met with a snarl, with the sort of vicious thrashing that is so uncommon for the vigilante. he doesn’t hold back in his attempts to get the man to let him up, pulling every trick he’s ever been taught, but the man blocks them all. at least he has the decency to look like it’s taking effort, like he couldn’t stop dick with one hand tied behind his back.
another snarl and dick stops, shaking in slade’s grip. “let me go, wilson.” it’s his nightwing voice, which is wrong. he’s not nightwing right now and slade isn’t deathstroke. he shouldn’t be using that voice but it slips out anyway.
he thrashes again, no skill this time, just furious desperation. “let me go.” and it’s desperate the second time, broken. he can’t hide the tears even if he wants to, body curling under slade’s as the sobs escape.
his chest feels like it’s cracking open rib by rib. bruce is dead. he’s dead and dick feels like his entire world has shattered around him. the ground feels destabilized under him, like his lifeline’s been cut. bruce, the man who’d taken him in after his parents’ death, who’d trained him to fight, to save people. who’d taught him the meaning of perseverance and loyalty. he’s gone and dick thinks he might shake apart from the pain of it.















